Persecuting, protecting, or ignoring biodiversity under climate change

Scheffers, B and G. Pecl (2019). Persecuting, protecting, or ignoring biodiversity under climate change. Nature Climate Change (9) 581-586. PDF.

Summary

Climate change is driving the redistribution of species, which often cross political borders, causing land managers and policy makers new challenges as they decide how to treat them.  Can we learn from our past experiences when species arrived in new locations (for reasons other than climate change) and be better prepared to address these newcomers?  The authors of this paper describe three basic archetypes for managing range shifting species in the past: persecution, protection or ignorance.  Often how a species is treated is determined by its perceived ecological and societal values.  Some species that are too prolific or have negative effects on other species we value, are not accepted (i.e. persecution).. Other species that are rare or protected in their original habitat, gain this same protection in their new land (i.e. protection), while many newly arrived species go unnoticed and unconsidered (i.e. ignorance).

Despite our past reactions to the arrival of new species, we need to prepare for a tidal wave of new species redistributing into new geopolitical regions as the climate changes.   In many cases, allowing and even facilitating the movement of shifting species will be essential to maintain ecosystem functioning and diversity of life.  With that in mind, our policies and management frameworks need to be proactive and agile to address range shifting species as they arrive.  

Take home points

  • Species are shifting ranges into new geopolitical regions at a greater rate than ever before thanks to climate change.

  • Policies and management frameworks need to be in place prior to species arrival due to the lag time in creating policies.

  • Facilitating species movement in response to climate change is critical for minimizing species loss, and potential risks to recipient communities need to be balanced against the need to encourage range shifts.

Management implications

  • We cannot wait until new species arrive to decide how to treat them.  Being proactive and planning ahead will be necessary to make these transitions smooth and well thought out.  

  • Encouraging range shifting will require incorporating corridors to increase landscape permeability and increasing genetic diversity and viability of range shifting species populations.

Keywords

Range Expansion; Review; Risk Assessment